Commercial Law and Preliminaries of Auditing · Ch 3 — Audit Procedure
Comparing the Audit Documentation Artifacts
Comparing the Audit Documentation Artifacts
Audit Programme, Audit Notebook, Audit Working Papers, Audit File, and Audit Memorandum sound similar and are frequently confused in exams, because all five are documents connected with recording and organising audit work. The table below sets out how they actually differ.
| Basis | Audit Programme | Audit Notebook | Audit Working Papers | Audit File | Audit Memorandum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A written plan of the audit procedures to be performed | A diary of day-to-day observations/queries kept by audit staff | The complete set of evidence + records generated during the audit | The physical/electronic folder(s) holding the working papers | A brief summary note of key facts, scope, and decisions |
| When prepared | Before the detailed checking begins | During the fieldwork, as work proceeds | Throughout the engagement, as each procedure is performed | Assembled and maintained throughout and after the engagement | Usually at the planning stage, updated as needed |
| Primary purpose | Distribute and control work, fix responsibility | Record queries/points for the final report | Provide evidence supporting the auditor's opinion | Organise and store all the engagement's documents | Give a quick-reference summary of the whole engagement |
| Relationship to the others | One of the documents that becomes part of the working papers | Also becomes part of the working papers | The Programme, Notebook, and Memorandum are all COMPONENTS of the working papers | The CONTAINER in which working papers (incl. Programme, Notebook, Memorandum) are physically organised | A short summary drawn from, and filed among, the working papers |
Note
The One Idea That Resolves Most Confusion …